What You've Been Through Is Exactly What You Prayed For
You feel ashamed for even hoping all this time. Then the Word shines upon you—"Whosoever believes on Him shall not be ashamed." So you carry on, until waiting again feels humiliating.
“And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the Lord had shut up her womb.” 1 Samuel 1:6
You cannot possibly ignore this pattern in God's behavior:
The chosen ones of God always seem to be born to women who were barren—beyond their natural time, but not beyond God’s time.
Isaac from Sarah, Joseph from Rachel, Samuel from Hannah, and John the Baptist from Elizabeth.
They were childless past the expected window of fertility because of what they would give birth to, and the fruit of their wombs had been chosen before it was even formed.
Today, I want to focus on Hannah, the mother of Samuel, because her story feels especially relevant.
It is one thing that the devil keeps you barren (most often it’s legal attacks incurred by iniquities like abortion, occult practices, etc.); it is another thing when God shuts your womb.
You can repent and fight the devil by the power of God, but when God keeps you barren, who can fight for you?
The chosen will not enter the world outside of prophetic timing. There’s no accident in a chosen one’s life that will not be used to fulfill his purpose.
Like Samuel, Hannah was chosen, and “delay” seems to be common in a chosen person’s life.
In this article:
Why were the Israelites enslaved for 430 years instead of 400 years?
Chronological order is the opposite of how things truly happen
You prayed for what you prayed for because it’s already in your future
What you’ve been through is exactly what you prayed for
Why were the Israelites enslaved for 430 years instead of 400 years?
Delay, by its definition, means that nothing in your life grows—except your age. And it has two causes:
It’s a demonic attack, legal or illegal.
(If you frequently dream of old schools—especially schools before college—it’s a strong sign that you may be under the control of a spirit of delay.)It’s divine and follows a prophetic timing. In this case, it’s not a real “delay,” but it feels like one from an earthly perspective.
To learn more about legal vs. illegal demonic attacks—and how to defeat the spirit of delay—check out this post:
When God told Abraham that his offspring would be enslaved in a foreign land for 400 years, He had already prepared the birth of Moses.
But the Israelites were actually enslaved for 430 years—not 400. Why?
Because of the first cause of delay: demonic attack.
God is precise in His word. When He said 400, He meant 400—not 401, not 421.
So the Israelites were delayed by 30 years.
Now, let me ask you another question: how long was Moses in hiding after he killed the Egyptian?
40 years.
When Moses first stood up for his fellow Israelites, they rejected him because they didn’t recognize their deliverer:
“Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? Intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian?”
—Exodus 2:14
Those 400 years were prophetic. The extra 30 were not.
Thirty years—many people today have been delayed for 30 years and still think they are waiting on God.
Chronological order is the opposite of how things truly happen
In Hannah’s case, it’s the second cause—divine and prophetic, because the Bible tells us plainly, “the Lord had shut up her womb.”
Now the first question you’ll ask is: Why?
You just answered yourself: Because of Samuel.
Hannah prayed for a baby boy—that’s only partially true—no, she actually prayed for a prophet.
Yes, the Lord shut her womb before she was desperate enough to make that vow, but remember, God does not operate in time but in eternity, and everything on earth, the so-called “chronological order,” happens upside down in the spirit and eternity—
So indeed, Hannah prayed for a prophet, and hence, God answered her prayer by giving her and Himself a prophet.
Remember, men cannot without God, but God will not without men. From the day God gave men dominion over the earth, He acts upon prayer requests, which is an invitation for Him to interfere with earthly affairs.
To answer Hannah’s prayer, God must shut her womb for a certain season, because prophets don’t just come to the world like everybody else. They must be born at a prophetic timing to fulfill a divine purpose.
And God was waiting for the time to send Samuel to Israel.
You prayed for what you prayed for because it’s already in your future
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrew 11:1
This verse has been going through my mind over and over this past month, and I realize—I live this Word. Each day is the substance and evidence of my prayers.
When you pray, you know in your heart immediately that the Lord is pleased with this desire of yours and has gladly granted it.
Why do you perceive His joy in approving your request?
Because finally—finally—you asked for it, which He had already laid in your future, and now He can bring it to you on earth as it is in heaven. If you do not ask, He will not do so, because you are ordained to subdue the earth and have dominion over it.
When God brought all the animals to Adam to see what he would call them—He already knew their names, and names are who they are. Adam, having not yet sinned, knew perfectly the will of God, so he was able to recognize the essence of these creatures and name each of them precisely.
But time passes by, the fulfillment has not come, so you begin to doubt if He truly said “yes.”
Remember, He is faithful, even when we are not. We forget what we asked of Him; we doubt our good desires. Not only do we stop praying—unlike Hannah, who consistently came to the temple to ask for a prophet—but we also change our behaviors, and that’s where our troubles come.
We’re discouraged from aligning our daily life with that vision. You asked God for a great thing, and you know—deep down, you know—that it was the Holy Spirit who led you to ask for it, because God desires to give it to you—
What you’ve been through is exactly what you prayed for
But weeks pass, months pass, years pass—nothing seems to happen. Expectation becomes disappointment. You feel ashamed for even hoping all this time. Then the Word shines upon you: "Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed."
So you carry on—well, at least for a while, until waiting again starts to feel humiliating. Then His Word comes: "No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly," and "All things work together for good for those who love Him."
And just like that, alternating between hope and despair, you keep going. Many blessings have been given to you. Many breakthroughs have you experienced. Many signs and wonders have you witnessed—
But deep in your heart, you know what is lacking.
You know what you’ve been waiting for, what has carried you this far—
Yes, it’s that thing which was answered the moment you asked for it, yet remains unfulfilled day in and day out, year in and year out.
All the grace and glory you’ve seen cannot take your mind off it.
All the grace and glory in the waiting only seem to serve this one purpose—to keep you waiting, believing, hoping, trusting—
So that one day, you will see the glory of God in the land of the living.
Once you see it, you cannot unsee it.
Once you hear it, you cannot unhear it.
Then you realize: all things do work out for the good, and the promise of God stands forever.
You might forget what you asked for—just as a coping mechanism you picked up from dealing with this world. You might even talk yourself out of it—but God remembers, and it is already done. Theoretically, you know, but in practice, you suffer from unbelief.
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Because of this promise, you cling to God while you are “too far gone” from those you used to hang out with. You see others surrounded by a dozen friends and spending weekends and holidays with parents—you know that was once you; that could have been you—
Had you never received a promise from God.
Had He never called you out of Egypt.
Had you never died in the wilderness.
But in such moments, in quietness and loneliness, you hear Him gently asking,
“Do you remember what you asked of Me at the beginning?”
You burst into tears and start laughing with Him—
Yes, Lord, I remember now.
I asked for legacy.
I asked for influence.
I asked for abundance.
I asked for a name remembered because of Your Name.
I deserve everything I’ve been through for prayers as such.
I deserve trials and warfares.
I deserve hardships and isolations.
I deserve misunderstanding and betrayal.
I deserve tenting and moving around upon His call.
I deserve facing what I feared the most, survived it, and feared nothing anymore.
I deserve having no anchor of hope, no source of peace or joy but the Lord.
I deserve missing out on all things my peers are slowly dying in and toiling after.
So yes, Father, I asked You for a prophet, not just a baby boy. They can give birth to ten sons and seven daughters, they can appear prosperous and celebrate year in and year out—but none that come out of their womb shall remain like the name of Samuel.
This is what I prayed for, and hence, this is what I must go through—the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen.
What’s next:
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